The NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope has captured a colossal ring of light from the collision of two galaxies, resembling a circular window carved into the universe and possibly serving as a glimpse into humanity’s future.
Images from the Hubble Space Telescope reveal a “intertwined galaxy” collectively known as Arp-Madore 417-391, located 670 million light-years away in the Eridanus constellation.
According to a publication from the ESA (European Space Agency), these two galaxies are in the process of colliding and merging, their gravitational forces distorting and twisting them into an unusual shape while their cores move closer together.
Stunning image recently released – (Photo: HUBBLE/NASA/ESA).
Clearly, these are two large galaxies that are almost “evenly matched”, so instead of one swallowing the other, they create a spectacular tug-of-war.
According to Live Science, the galaxy collision was “uncovered” from the vast data set collected by NASA/ESA using Hubble’s advanced observational equipment, with the region of the sky where this unusual pair appears described by over 6,000 images.
In the clear image posted by ESA, part of the bodies of the two galaxies forms two elongated arms that close into a ring, resembling a stylized round window through which we can glimpse the distant universe.
This could also be our “window to the future,” an image of what may happen to our world in two billion years.
The galaxy containing Earth, the Milky Way, has merged with about 16 other galaxies, but most of these encounters have been one-sided, as the Milky Way is a colossal “monster” among galaxies.
However, in two billion years, we are predicted to collide with a rival of equal strength, the neighboring Andromeda galaxy, which could create a scene of two galaxies tearing at each other like the new image from Hubble. This collision is believed to potentially eject Earth from the “habitable zone” of the Solar System.
